Brooder.



G. H. LEE.

BROODEB. 'API'LIQAI'ION FILED A311. 14 1908.

9'1 8, 1 74 Patented Apr. 13, 1909.

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G. H. LEE.

BROODBR'. APPLICATION nun 123.14. lobe.

Patented Apr. 13', 1909.

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GEORGE HOWARD LEE, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

BROODER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 13, 1909.

Application filed April 1 1908. Serial No. 426,925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Gnonon H. LEE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Ginaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and Improved Brooder, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to brooders such as used in rearing chicks.

The object of the invention is to produce a brooder which will not. require other heat than that developed by the bodies of the chicks within the brooder.

More specifically, the object of the invention is to produce a brooder for this general purpose, having a special construction which will tend to conserve the heat from the bodies of the chicks, and which will provide for the ventilation without danger of crowding.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a vertical cross section through box with the hover removed, and especially illustrating the means for adjusting the height of the hover within the brooder box; Fig. 5 is a vertical section further illustrating the adusting means for supporting the hover; Fig. 6 is an elevation illustrating the ventilator which is used with the brooder; and Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan illustrating the arrangement of the blanket strips in detail.

Referring more particularly to the parts and especially to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 represents the brooder body which has the form of a box, as shown. The forward wall of this box is formed with a door 2 mounted on hinges 3, and this door is adapted to open outwardly into a position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. In this position the door is adapted to be held by means of a rain shield 4, the said rain shield consisting simply of an inclined plate of resilient material such as sheet steel. This plate extends throughout the entire length of the broode'iyand is attached to the upper edge of the forward wall thereof, as shown. The end walls 5 of the brooder are provided with supporting brackets 6, the construction of which is very clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. These adjusting brackets consist of bifurcated plates, each bracket having a centrally disposed. slot 7 which receives a clamping bolt 8 for securing the bracket in any vertically adjusted position, as will be readily understood. On the upper ends of the brackets 6 the hover 9 restsj This hover is not secured to the side walls of the brooder in any way, but simply rests upon the brackets. In order to enable it to be put in position or removed, the cover 10 of the brooder is made removable.

The hover 9 consists of a horizontal back or board 11 on the under face of which a plurality of longitudinally disposed battens or pad strips 12 are placed, and between these battens a padding 13, of cotton or similar non-conducting material, is placed. This padding 13 is held in position by a sheet 14 of textile material or fabric, which is at tached to the lower edges of the strips 12 by suitable fastening devices 15.

Extending longitudinally of the breeder I provide a plurality of blanket strips 16 which hang in folds, as shown. These strips are attached at their upper edges to the bat tens 12. The arrangement of these blanket strips is shown in Fig. 7 they are arranged in pairs 17 between which single blankets or blanket strips 18 are disposed, and the strips are arranged in staggered relation so as to form a substantiall T closed dividing wall separating the brooder into longitudinally disposed divisions or compartments 19. Through these compartments 19 longitudinally disposed ventilating tubes 20 are arranged, the ends of which pass through the end walls of the brooder body, as sho'mi in Fig. 2. The under sides of these ventilating tubes are provided with perforations 21 so that the foul air will be carried off from'the compartments. By raising or lowering the brackets 6 the hover may be supported at any point desired.

On the rear wall a ventilator 22 is provided near the floor of the brooder and this ventilator is provided with a screen 28 which is adapted to be closed or partially closed as desired, by a sliding door 24. A similar ventilator is placed in the door 2 at the front of the incubator.

In orderto enable the rain shield 4 to oper-- ate as a holder to hold the door 2 in the open position indicated in Fig. 1, .thevloweredge of the rain shield is provided with a downwardly projecting flange 26.

Instead of constructing the hover as depadding 29' is placed, and this padding is retained" by an apron 30 which is formed of fabric, the edges of which are attached to the edges of the back 28. The body of this apron sags down like a bag so as to form a padding space between the apron and the back, which receives the padding, as shown. At suitable'points on the under side of the apron 30, longitudinally disposed blanket strips 31 aresewed, dividing the space in "the brooder into a plurality of longitudinally disposed compartments 82 i for the chicks. In the upper parts of'thes'e compartments longitudinally disposed ventilating tubes 33' are arranged," and thcse'e itend to the end walls of the body as shown. Like the ventilator tubes 20, the under sides of these tubes are provided with perforations 34, as indicated.

'These tubes33are not arranged at the same level, but the middle rows of the tubesare depressed so that the tube in every compartment lies near the under surface of the apron 30, that is, it is disposed-inthe upper part of the compartment so as tocarryoif thefoul vention shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

I below the cover.

The hover is supported on adjustable brackets 34* similar to the brackets 6 described in connection with the form of the in- I In other respects, this form of the brooder is identical with theform previously described. Inboth forms of the b'rooderit'will be observed that anair space is formed above the hover, and

p This air space tends to prevent the loss ofheat which passes upwardly from the bodies of th'e'chic'ks Inthis way the heat is retained in thebr ooder, and itis unnecessary to supply s' ecial heating means. The tubes provide amp e ventilation for the inner compartments between the blanket strips and the outer ventilators,'an,d insure that the sides of the body will bepmp'eny ventilated. i A The construction described is advantageous, furthermore, for the reasonthat it tends to keep all parts of the brooder at substantially the same te1nperature, and this tends to prevent the chicks from crowding each other in a dangerous manner. i i

henthe broode'r is in use the heat from the'bodies of the chicks ascends around the edgesof the hover into the air chamber in the uppe'r'pa'rt of the body. "In this way the entire upper portion of the body becoinesfilled withheated air."""Tl1is keeps the hover warm.

In this connection attention is called to the fact thatthe air chamber above the hover does not, com inunicate with the outer air.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A brooder of the class described com prising a body, a hover disposed within said body extending out to the side walls thereof forming a chick compartment therebelow and a closed air space within said body above said hover, and means for adjusting said hover vertically within said body.

2. A brooder having a body, adjustable brackets mounted within said body, and a hover supported on said brackets and having longitudinally disposed blanket strips at ity of substantially parallel perforated ven' tilator tubes extending completely therethrough, a hover disposed above said tubes and form ng an a r space in the upper part of said 'b'rooder, and brackets adjustably attached to the walls of said body and supporting said hoyer.

5. A brooder having a body with a plurality of substantially parallel ventilatortubes passing therethrough, a hover adjustably mounted. above said tubes and dividing the upper portion of said brooder into an air space, longitudinally disposed blanket strips arranged between said tubes and depending thereb elow, and ventilators in the side walls of said body.

6. A brooder having a body with a door in the side wall thereof opening upwardly, and a rain shield consisting of a plate projecting from said body and having means forengagingthe free edge of said door to retain the samein an open position.

7. A brooder having a body with a doorin the side wall thereof hinged at its upper edge, and a rain shield consisting of an inclined plate attached at the upper edge of said side wall and projecting outwardly from said body, said rain shield having means for engaging said door to maintain the same in an open position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE HOWARD LEE.

Witnesses D. JoriNsToN, Row isr 

